The world is aware of the catastrophic event that has taken place in Myanmar… here are the facts:
Myanmar a.k.a. Burma…
One of the poorest countries of the world…
Cyclone Nargis hit the Irrawaddy Delta of Myanmar in the middle of the night on May 3rd…
The tidal wave over 12 feet high and winds over 190 kph destroyed numerous villages and towns…
More than 22900 killed (100,000 feared dead)…
42000 still missing…
Thousands injured…
1 million homeless…
Survivors now short of food and water…
Food prices shot up overnight…
All power lines destroyed…
Growing fear of Disease…
International aid restricted by junta government…
How much worse can it get?
The worst thing for me sitting here in India, is knowing that Myanmar is just over the border and the Indian Government has so far had nothing to say or do about this huge disaster that has affected millions of people… The first country to rush to Myanmar’s aid was Thailand, not India… A country as far as the US is desperately trying to get aid across to the victims of the cyclone, but the junta government won’t approve their entry… and here we are just a few hundred kilometers away from the despairing victims, doing nothing!!! WHY???
Even the Indian news media has downplayed the whole disaster so far. Watch any news channel and you’ll get more about the Indian Premier League than Cyclone Nargis! Have we become so selfish and self centered that we choose to turn a deaf ear to the pleas of the cyclone victims? Or is political agenda more important than lending a helping hand to our fellow humans in need?
All that news reports say about India with regard to Cyclone so far is this: The Meteorological Department in India warned Myanmar of the impending cyclone in advance, but no efforts were taken to warn the Burmese population. Are we playing a game of “I told you so, but you didn’t listen… now face the consequences!” here???
And to think that Chennai could have been hit by the cyclone instead of Myanmar… Shame on India!
The Well Watered Tree 